Russian boxer Vladimir Nikitin pulls out of Rio 2016 due to injuries inflicted by Michael Conlan

Nikitin won a hugely contentious quarter-final against the Irish fighter.

Nikitin was left a bloody mess against Conlan but was still awarded an unanimous victoryGetty

Russian boxer Vladimir Nikitin has pulled out of his bantamweight semi-final against American Shakur Stevenson at Rio 2016 because of the injuries he suffered in his controversial win over Ireland's Michael Conlan.

Conlan opened up a pre-existing cut on the side of the Russian's head inside the first round and split open another above his left eye in a fight many awarded to the Irishman.

USA Boxing have now confirmed their fighter Stevenson has progressed into the final, with the head of the Russian delegation at the Games Igor Kazikov also confirming their fighter's withdrawal.

"Further examinations showed that the injury suffered by our boxer Vladimir Nikitin is too serious. Unfortunately, he won't be able to compete."

Controversial decisions have overshadowed the boxing competition at Rio 2016 with world amateur boxing federation Aiba coming under heavy criticism. Conlan later described the ruling body in unflattering terms branding them "cheating b******s" following his defeat to Nikitin.

The incident followed another controversial decision on Monday where Russian heavyweight Evgeny Tishchenko was awarded victory in his final against Vassiliy Levit of Kazakhstan. The decision saw the 25-year-old booed by those in attendance at the Riocentro arena as he received his gold medal.

Aiba have since expelled a number of judges and referees having "determined that less than a handful of the decisions were not at the level expected". The governing body did not specify which bouts had been affected by poor officiating and insisted no results would be overturned.